


Parting Words

by sunrise_and_death



Series: Travelers [3]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, References to Police Corruption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:43:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22530490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunrise_and_death/pseuds/sunrise_and_death
Summary: Goodbyenoun1. A taking of leave2. What Higgins expects when Andrew summons to his juvenile detention facility only a few weeks before he is due to be released.3. Not what he gets.
Series: Travelers [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1075035
Comments: 42
Kudos: 256





	Parting Words

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't the proper next part of the Travelers 'verse, but I couldn't find a good way to incorporate it into the main story, so you get this interlude instead! 
> 
> If you've stumbled upon this randomly, it is necessary for you to read the previous two stories for this one to make real sense. 
> 
> Warnings for nongraphic discussion of canon child abuse and rape.

For some, being an officer of the law is a job. They strap on the mantle of justice when they come to work the same way they strap on their gun, and when they go home, they leave behind any sense of civic responsibility.

Phil Higgins has never been one of them. He joined the force because he wants to improve his city however he can. He knows Oakland cops don’t have the best reputation—hell, the whole mess with the Ridersis still ongoing. For the past three years, he’s had to live with the fact that four of the veterans he’d looked up to as a rookie made their careers by making false arrests, planting evidence, and worse, and it’s only made him more determined to help his city as best he can. Beyond throwing himself into his job, he volunteers evenings and weekends, letting any possibility of a family of his own or life outside work slide by as he devotes himself to Oakland and its people.

That’s the short version of how he got involved in the Oakland PAL program and how he met Andrew Doe. Higgins does his best with every kid who comes through PAL, but he can’t save them all. Andrew is one of the ones who slipped through the cracks. At first, he’d thought that Cass Spear was really making an impact on this closed-off, shut-down kid. After all, the only time he seemed interested in anything was when she was around. But then, about a year after Andrew came to live with her, he stole the Spears’ car and drove it through the front of their church. And that was that. Off to juvie he went, and all Higgins could do was ensure he was at the best possible facility.

He’s kept tabs on Andrew, checking in when he can. So he heard that Cass was still interested in adopting Andrew, even though he refused to see her. And he learned later that Andrew’s biological family had decided to take him back instead. He doesn’t know whether to feel good about that or not; his role in the entire affair is one of the strangest parts of his life. Eventually, he decides that it’s good thing; maybe being around his twin brother will help Andrew find purpose.

He never expects to hear from Andrew again. The kid had never been shy about expressing his disdain for Higgins and the police in general. But then, a week or so before Christmas, he gets a call from Andrew’s facility, with a request from Andrew himself that he come visit.

There’s no way he can say no to that, so he skips his volunteering for once and drives out to the facility for the next scheduled visiting hours. He doesn’t know what he’s expecting as he’s ushered into the bland visiting room, but it certainly isn’t what he gets.

Andrew has grown in the years since he saw him last, but not much. Even sitting, it’s clear that he’s far shorter than average height. But he’s filled out in other ways; he’d been scrawny when Higgins met him, having come to Cass malnourished and deprived. Juvie has been good to him; his shoulders have expanded surprisingly wide and his arm muscles are plainly defined.

For all he’s changed, though, the flat expression on his face is almost identical. Way back when, the first clue Higgins had got that Aaron wasn’t lying about being someone else was the expressiveness of his features; for as long as he’s known Andrew, he’s never seen him look anything but devoid of feeling. Despite the years passed, this meeting is no exception.

Still, Higgins smiles, because it’s good to see him nonetheless—and of Andrew’s own volition. “Andrew,” he says as he sits down at the table. “How have you been doing?”

“This is not a social call,” Andrew answers, shutting him down before he can even really get started. “I am leaving here soon, and I do not like to leave things unfinished.”

Higgins raises his eyebrows. He has no idea what could be unfinished between them. Unless: “You don’t need to thank me for getting you in here, if that’s what you mean. I’ve always been happy to help however I can—I always will be.”

“I have no intention of thanking you,” Andrew says, which squashes that idea neatly. “I am only speaking to you because of all the pigs I’ve met, you are the least likely to be corrupt, and I cannot do this myself.”

It’s hardly the most positive of endorsements, but Higgins decides to put aside the offensive language in favor of heartening knowledge that Andrew does, to some extent, trust him. “If there’s any way I can help you, I will,” he promises.

Andrew makes a low, dismissive noise. “You would not be helping me. You are too late for that.” He studies Higgins a moment more, before he finally says, “The Spears. They cannot foster another child. You will make sure they don’t.”

His words come from left field, and Higgins frowns as he takes them in. Is Andrew jealous of the idea of Cass fostering another kid? He knows better than to ask, though; saying anything like that is a surefire way to make Andrew clam up. Instead, he keeps his tone gentle as he coaxes, “Can you tell me why?”

“Don’t condescend to me.”

Higgins sighs. So much for that. “I’m sorry. But you have to know I need a reason.”

Despite their light color, Andrew’s eyes look dark and fathomless as he stares Higgins down. “That house is not safe. Is that reason enough for you?”

Dread creeps into Higgins’s stomach. He’d known there was an explanation for why he couldn’t reach Andrew, but he’d never anticipated it being this one. “How is it not safe? Did Richard and Cass do something to you?”

“Not Richard or Cass.”

For a moment, Higgins is baffled. Then he remembers that there is a third person in the Spear household. “Drake?” he blurts out, shocked. He can’t imagine it; he’d watched that troubled boy grow into a strong young man his parents were proud of. Sure, Drake had had some problems with violence back in the day, but he’d overcome that. He could not be the source of Andrew’s problems.

Higgins curses himself for his unguarded exclamation nearly instantly, because Andrew visibly pulls away. It’s only when Andrew draws his stony expression around him like a cloak that Higgins realizes just how open he was being—for him, at least.

“We’re done here,” Andrew says, moving to get up.

“Wait, wait.” Higgins holds up a hand to stall him. “I didn’t mean to—look, if you say something happened, then I believe you.” And he will, he knows. He’ll put aside his personal feelings and biases. He’s seen too many victims get shut down to not take anything Andrew says very, very seriously. “But I need you to say something happened.”

Andrew doesn’t sit back down, but he doesn’t walk away either. He regards Higgins with apathy and says, “I’m saying it. And to be clear, I’m only saying it to you. I will not testify.”

“Alright.” That’s a problem for another day. “But Andrew, what are you saying?”

Swiftly, Andrew leans down. There’s something vaguely threatening about the movement, even though Andrew is only sixteen years old and barely five feet tall. Higgins only barely manages to stay in place as Andrew comes close enough to murmur, “I’m saying that he likes his sexual partners young and unwilling. Is that clear enough?”

This time, Higgins can’t stop himself from recoiling. Andrew’s not lying. He can see the truth of the words in Andrew’s face as he straightens up, and he can see it in the way his fists are balled and trembling at his sides. As incongruous as it seems, Andrew is afraid, and he is telling the truth anyway.

“It’s enough,” Higgins answers roughly. “I believe you. Thank you for telling me.”

“Don’t thank me. Make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Andrew orders. “And leave me out of it.”

That might not be possible. The accusation Andrew has leveled is a weighty one, and Higgins will need evidence. “I’ll do my best,” is all he can promise. “I’m sorry, Andrew.”

“Regret is useless,” Andrew tells him. “Just stop it.”

He doesn’t wait for Higgins to respond or say goodbye, just turns and walks away. Higgins watches the deliberate, heavy way he moves across the room and can only be grateful that he found a way to make himself safe, and was brave enough to speak up so others could be too—that he was willing to put his trust in Higgins, despite the many reasons he might have had not to.

If it’s the last thing Higgins does, he’ll do his best to be worthy of that.

**Author's Note:**

> The references to police corruption in Oakland are actually drawing on the real-world events of _Allen et al. v. the City of Oakland_, the effects of which still impact the Oakland Police Department today. It makes a lot of sense that canon!Andrew is extremely wary of cops, given that he would have been in the area when all this was going down.
> 
> With this handled, I hope to have the actual next part of this series up within the next couple weeks. Stay tuned!
> 
> Thanks for reading, and you can find me on [Tumblr](http://sunrise-and-death.tumblr.com).


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